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Office of the President to be renamed; Harmon will be Minister of State

President David Granger plans to designate the Office of the President as the Ministry of the Presidency and make the Head of the Presidential Secretariat a Minister of State, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA)

Granger told staffers at the Presidential Complex of his intentions when he met with them.

He stated that the new ministry will be headed by Lt. Col. Rt. Joseph Harmon, and explained that when Harmon enters the National Assembly, he will be designated the Minister of State, so he will be head, or the minister in charge of the Ministry of the Presidency.

Granger is Interim Head of the Presidential Secretariat.

The president said that from time to time, other ministers will be appointed in the Presidency, “but Mr. Harmon will be the person who will be exercising the ministerial function under my directions of this ministry… Some departments will continue, some will remain, but most important thing is that we ensure there is no disruption, simple. Comrade Harmon will be doing the job that Dr. Luncheon, did, with some exceptions, he won’t be doing NIS, but as far as OP is concerned, he is minister in charge.”

Lt. Col. Rt. Harmon expressed his gratitude at the appointment saying that the A Partnership for National Unity /Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Administration intends to be service oriented. “We are the servants of the people, and the people are excited and expectant, and if you understand this, this is what they are looking for. I have met with some of the staff already and indicated that there is no witch hunt. Government has to be continued, we expect that you will serve to deliver this. We will provide a quality of service that all ministries must emulate, that would be the envy of the Caribbean.”

The president will meet all Permanent Secretaries on May 20 at the Guyana International Conference Centre.